I was pleased to sit down with my longtime friend and colleague, Thorunn Bjarnadottir, to discuss her upbringing in Iceland and her insights on some of the cultural differences she has experienced during her many years living and working in the U.S. Formerly the Director of Intercultural Education in the International Student and Scholar Services office at the University of Minnesota, Thorunn is now the founder and CEO of Dancing With Differences.
Episode #102: 'Channeling Grandpa Paul' w/ Annette Benson
I so enjoyed this conversation with my friend and colleague, Annette Benson. We talked about her childhood in rural Illinois surrounded by family and the impact of those early experiences, especially the time spent with her grandparents, on who she is today. Annette is the Senior Public Relations Consultant with the Center for Intercultural Learning, Mentoring, Assessment, and Research at Purdue University and I’ve gotten to know her through her work on a major initiative called the Intercultural Learning Hub.
Episode #93: 'Be Who You Are' w/ Haerin Park
I was thrilled to sit down with Dr. Haerin Park for a conversation about her experiences growing up in South Korea and adjusting to a very different cultural context in the U.S. Haerin is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut, and in this episode she shares some hard-won insights about finding a greater sense of 'authenticity' in her cross-cultural interactions.
Episode #79: 'Embracing Complexity' w/ Keisha Valdez
In this episode I speak with Keisha Valdez, a valued friend and colleague, who currently serves as the Director for Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Professional Learning at Boston Public Schools. We discuss the importance of embracing the complexity of our own and others' identities!
Episode #63: 'Not All Knowledge is Knowable' w/ Theresa Heath
I worked for many years with Theresa Heath, my interviewee in this episode. Theresa is now the Associate Director of International & Off-Campus Studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discussed indigenous ways of knowing and dominant cultural norms.
Land Acknowledgement
Theresa works at St. Olaf College, which stands on the homelands of the Wahpekute Band of the Dakota Nation (WAH-PAY-KOO-TAY) and lives in Minneapolis, on the homelands of the Dakota people.
Episode #55: 'The New Normal?' w/ Andy McCall
Andy McCall, my interviewee in this episode, and I met as undergraduate students at Carleton College in Minnesota and have been friends ever since! Andy is now Associate Professor of Biology at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. It was great catching up with him and getting his take on living in a small town during the coronavirus pandemic.
Episode #40: 'Finding Balance' w/ Kaishan Kong
Kaishan Kong, my interviewee in this episode, and I were fellow doctoral students at the University of Minnesota and she was also, for a short period of time, my Chinese language teacher! Kaishan is now Assistant Professor of Chinese at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, and happens to be the spouse of Kevin Clancy (see Episode #30). I am so pleased that Kaishan was able to take the time to share some of her cross-cultural insights and reflections (you can find the 3P’s framework that Kaishan mentions during our conversation here).
Episode #30: 'Hybridity' w/ Kevin Clancy
In conversation with Kevin Clancy, Director of the Center for Global Education at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, about his identity as a ‘practitioner-scholar’ and how this hybrid perspective has influenced his cross-cultural interactions.